The Land That Time Forgot from 1918 has had some notable adaptations, including the 1974 Kevin Connor film. Now, The Asylum, which previously tackled the title in 2009, brings the story back to the screen. Can this new version balance the feeling of the original with contemporary elements without losing the spirit of the novel?
A Russian submarine crew ambushes and destroys an Australian naval ship in the Bering Sea, setting the tension high from the start. Why they attacked and how the Australians got so far from home is anyone’s guess, but the ship certainly didn’t make it.
Survivors include Lt. Tim Olson (David Margetts, Inside, The Summer Before Forever), Bradley (Jasmine Hope, Falling for Daisy, Flunk), and finally Tyler (Jack Pearson, Time Pirates, Fast and Fierce: Death Race). Somehow they manage to take over command of the Russian sub only to have a bigger problem. The huge sea monster that crushes their boat and forces it onto an unknown island is a bit much.
At the same time, back at the Pentagon, Admiral Jackman (Michael Paré, In Tenebras: Into the Darkness, Sentinel) is becoming increasingly troubled. The Russian sub has disappeared off of the radar, but for him, it is a more personal issue. One of the unaccounted employees is Lee Larue (Lauren Koopowitz, Boys in the Trees, Kangaroo Island) his niece, who is missing at the moment alongside her mother Margaret (Michelle Bauer, Demonwarp, Monster Mash) who is in hospice care, and suffering from deteriorating health.
Using his aide Hallie Pearce (Bix Krieger, Sin City Murders), Jackman becomes embroiled in a side story of missing Lee that includes time dilation, gravitational anomalies, and less Lee, all of which try to offer some semblance of scientific reasoning to the ludicrous happenings, but instead spiral into the realm of techno-babble.
Dan Telfer (The Onion’s Extremely Accurate History of The Internet, Nerd Poker Of Beasts and Blood) is tackling the screenplay with Anthony Frith (Lessons From A Middle-Class Artist, The Worst Alien in the World). They have tried to update Burroughs’ premise without varying too much from the original work. The version of Burroughs’ island setting Caspak is perhaps the most different aspect. In this iteration, Caspak is part of an alternate timeline rather than an uncharted continent. This narrative tweak, while not fundamental to the storyline, opens up some intriguing possibilities, though they are not sufficiently explored.
Once the surviving crew members reach Caspak, the story pretty much turns into another dinosaur versus human survival story. Some elements will certainly please admirers of Burroughs, such as the appearance of German sailor Von Schoen portrayed by Nate Charles Karagiannis-Troisi (Slashening: The Final Beginning). His name is a nod to the Von Schoenvorts, the original story’s submarine commander. But for the most part, the focus of the film is on the characters escaping velociraptors and a raging T-Rex.
Although the subplot focusing on the Pentagon adds another dimension to the story, it is rather beside the point. It appears that this was created solely to give a reason for casting Michael Paré and Michelle Bauer, two familiar faces in a sea of Australian actors with virtually no name recognition. As is to be expected, Paré fulfills his role and resides within his comfort zone, but his brief appearance does not help the film. Like her counterpart, she does little as well, no more than a couple of scenes as the sick Margaret in bed.
The Land That Time Forgot is dedicated to Glenn Campbell, not the country singer, but the effects artist who worked on Lifeforce, Spaceballs, and The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension before becoming The Asylum’s longtime effects supervisor. Appropriately, while still being uneven, the effects, which include a T-Rex battling a raptor pack, are above average for these movies. On the other hand, there are the usual gaffes, including the addition of CGI fire to the Molotov Cocktails Tyler is holding. Couldn’t they just light them as is done in most other films?
As noted previously, The Land That Time Forgot has moments it likely wants to have but still delivers on what is more mindless action involving dinosaurs that seem to be from a different era. While far from surpassing the 1974 adaptation, which featured Doug McClure, a favorite for many, it does outshine several other Asylum features.
For anyone wanting a dose of Burroughs’ pulp stories, or simply a joyride filled with dinosaurs, The Land That Time Forgot provides the fix.
Although the film doesn’t change the game by any industry standards, it will certainly provide a pleasurable experience navigating through the prehistoric era. While there is no news on whether they want to pursue the Paths sequel, The People That Time Forgot, I wish they would pursue it since I would definitely check it out.
The Asylum released The Land That Time Forgot on January 24th in select theatres such as Laemmle Town Center 5 (Encino, California), Aurora Cineplex (Roswell, Georgia), Film Noir Cinema (Brooklyn, New York) Hickory Ridge Cinemas (Brunswick, Ohio) and Trylon Cinema (Minneapolis, Minnesota), alongside VOD and other digital distribution channels.
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